Thank you for all of the support I've received for this story. Writing it has been really fun, and it makes me happy that people actually like what I wrote. Also, another heads up. This chapter contains some language and some abuse. Be careful if that kind of stuff upsets you.


The sight of the sunrise across the tundra made Ruby happier than she'd been in a long time. Being a ghost, she had no need for sleep, which meant sitting around waiting for Weiss to wake up was a long and tedious task. But soon Weiss would wake up, and Ruby would start her mission of becoming her best friend.

She had spent most of her time planning just how she was going to befriend the cold girl, only to be constantly foiled at every turn by the fact that she couldn't do anything but talk, which wasn't exactly something she was good at. But she wouldn't let that stop her! She just had to help the lonely girl, otherwise, she couldn't live with herself. Wait, she was dead. She couldn't live with herself regardless.

Whatever. The semantics of whether or not she could use such phrases didn't matter. What did matter was that Weiss was waking up, letting out a little yawn and stretching, blinking the sleepiness out of her eyes.

"Good morning!" Ruby chirped up with a bright smile. She had decided earlier in the night that the first thing Weiss should see in the morning ought to be a friendly face.

The heiress narrowed her eyes, and all of a sudden Ruby remembered that Weiss thought she was trying to trick her. That might make this difficult. There wasn't much she could do if Weiss thought her attempts to be nice were attempts to deceive her into doing something nefarious.

"Oh. You're still here," Weiss said offhandedly before getting out of bed and making her way to her wardrobe. Ruby frowned slightly. Being so casually ignored stung, but she shook it off. She had a job to do.

"Yup. I'm still here," She said, desperate to keep the conversation going. The white-haired heiress let out a sigh, before turning to her ghostly companion.

"Get out, I don't need you around me right now," She ordered, pointing Ruby out the slightly cracked open window. Her frown returned. Weiss seemed determined to be rid of her.

"I can't. I can only go so far away before I get pulled back," She told the girl, only to see her bring her hand to her forehead, shaking her head.

"That's not what I meant,"

"Is this about what I said last night? Because I actually wanted to say I'm so-"

"I need you to leave so I can get dressed," Weiss interrupted her. Oh. That made sense.

"Sure, sorry. I didn't know that's what you meant."

The ghost floated out of the cracked open window and began to hum to herself. She sat there until she heard the door to Weiss's room creak open, causing her to whip around. Weiss was just leaving without her. That wouldn't be good.

She slipped through the window and ran up to Weiss, letting out a squeak as she just managed to make it through the door before it shut. Weiss gave her an odd look, before turning and heading down the hall. Ruby floated up to her feet, then followed after her.

Weiss followed the same schedule she had the day before, eating a light breakfast before heading to a history lesson. Ruby found the lesson to be extremely riveting, a sentiment not shared by Weiss. But she couldn't help it. Listening to tales about generals who outmaneuvered and outsmarted other generals in wars that she had only faintly heard of was exciting to the girl who had lived on a farm for most of her life.

It was like hearing one of Uncle Qrow's stories, only this one actually had and had far fewer anecdotes about scantily clad barmaids. She floated next to Weiss throughout the whole lecture, giddy with excitement. She wasn't going to try and talk to Weiss during the lesson, however. She knew distracting her wouldn't make her very pleased with Ruby.

Once the lecture finished, Weiss headed towards the training rooms in silence. Ruby tried to strike up a conversation several times, but was always shot down. The mansion Weiss lived in was beautiful, but every time she saw a room she hadn't seen before, she couldn't help but remember the previous day's events. This place was a beautiful house, but it wasn't home. How could Weiss's family be so cruel to her?

The next two hours were spent watching Weiss cast magic, something Ruby wholeheartedly believed she would never get tired of seeing. She had seen magic before, but that had been while she was suffering from the curse, so it had lost some of its luster for her. Weiss's magic, however, was one of the most awesome things she had ever seen.

Hers was nothing like Yang's or Uncle Qrow's. They used magic to strengthen themselves, augmenting their natural capabilities. Theirs was impressive, but not nearly as much as Weiss and her glyphs.

"Nice job, Weiss!" She called out after Weiss managed to create a complex-looking glyph while drawing in the air with the tip of her sword.

The heiress shot her a withering look, telling her that the distraction wasn't appreciated. Getting the message, Ruby wisely shut up and sat still. It made sense, glyphs were complex, and distracting her while she made one could get her hurt. She needed to be able to focus.

Yet each time Weiss managed to create one, Ruby beamed. She enjoyed the puzzled expression on Weiss's face when she noticed her sitting off to the side, grinning ear to ear every time she formed a glyph. Of course, then Weiss gained a look of understanding and frowned, narrowing her eyes. Uh-oh. That was the look Weiss always gave her when she thought she was tricking her.

What did I do? I'm just smiling!" She screamed silently. Then it hit her. Smiling when she performs magic makes her think that I'm happy she can do magic so well, which makes her think I need her to do something. She probably thought she wanted her to perform some crazy ritual like the bad guys in Mom's stories.

Man, making friends was hard when your every action is interpreted as an attempt to manipulate someone. But she wasn't backing down. She needed to be friends with Weiss so that she wouldn't be so lonely, and so Ruby would have someone to talk to that actually wanted to.

After finally finishing her magical exercises, Weiss dusted herself off and strode out of the training room. If she remembered, this was the time Weiss ate lunch yesterday. Hopefully, that meant she would get to spend time with the nice butler again. He seemed to be the only one who cared for Weiss.

Her hopes were dashed, however, when a servant came up and told Weiss that her father wanted to speak with her during lunch. Ruby glanced down at Weiss worriedly. The rest of her family hadn't been all that nice to the girl, and even they seemed to not be eager to earn the man's ire. She could only imagine how awful the man was.

Weiss stoically nodded at the servant, then took off towards the dining hall. Ruby turned around to see the man murmur "What a bitch," under his breath. Many of the servants had been really rude to Weiss, now that she thought about it. Rolling their eyes, scoffing at her behind her back, and other disrespectful things. She even remembered hearing a few whispers amongst themselves while she had been waiting in the library yesterday.

"What did Weiss do to deserve them hating her so much? She hasn't been terrible to them from what I've seen," Ruby thought to herself. Sure, Weiss could be cold, but the staff in the mansion, with the exception of the butler whose name she couldn't remember, treated her like a spoiled brat at best, with most being even worse. And they were really even that nice to her.

Yet this fact only galvanized her to want to become her friend sooner. Then Weiss would always have someone who was willing to listen by her side.

For now, though, Ruby had more pressing matters to attend to. Weiss was quickly increasing the distance between the two, and Ruby had to make sure she didn't get stuck outside of the dining hall for her meeting with her father.

The pair moved through the mansion quickly, crossing from the west wing, which contained the training halls, to the central area of the estate. Entering the foyer, Weiss ignored several servants who shot her curious glances before opening the door to the dining hall, Ruby following her every step of the way.

As Weiss made her way to the seat next to him, Ruby took in her father, who was sitting at the head of the table. Wearing an immaculate white tunic, with only a pinch of red in the form of a decorative handkerchief, the man sat with his elbows propped up on the table, fingers intertwined. His gaze flicked to Weiss as she took her place next to him, then snapped his fingers.

The sound echoed through the empty room, causing a servant to approach. The server asked what they wanted to eat, to which the man replied some fancy rich person food that Ruby had never heard of. Turning his attention back to his daughter, Weiss's father cleared his throat and began to speak.


"How have your studies been going?" Father asked, simply to start the conversation. He knew how she was doing in her studies. He monitored them almost daily to ensure that she did not slip up and grow complacent.

"My studies are going well. My private tutors are further along than they expected to be, and I have become quite proficient at creating several new glyphs thanks to my instructor," She reported, knowing that this was just conversation to throw her off. He would poke and prod at her verbal defenses, then once they were broken, he would reveal whatever he wanted from her. It was a method he had used time after time, and one she had no means of counteracting.

"What about your fencing? If I recall, your instructor mentioned you were far more skilled than he had expected," He replied, his mustache twisting upwards as he sneered slightly.

She nearly scoffed. "I almost beat him, and likely would have had something else not distracted me at the last second."

He raised a brow. "Almost? You almost beat him? Are you not a Schnee?" Father asked, causing Weiss to wilt. "A Schnee does not lose. Doing so brings dishonor to this family. You ought to be ashamed," He chastised, grinning as he watched her shrink further into her seat.

"The one bringing dishonor to the family is you, Father!" She wanted to scream, but knew that that would only anger him. Father was easier to deal with when he was calm. He may be cold and calculating, but that was better than the ranting and raving about how much of a nuisance she was and how she was a blight on their family.

So instead, Weiss just said "Yes Father. It will not happen again."

He grunted in approval, and made to speak but was interrupted by the kitchen servants entering the room, carrying two bowls of soup. They set the bowls in front of the two nobles, and Jacques waved them away, before turning his attention back towards Weiss. The two talked a little bit more about her studies, her training, and anything he could criticize her on, all the while eating their lunch as quickly as possible.

Once the meal was finally done, Weiss made to get up, but her Father gestured at her to stay seated. Great. He had something he wanted to ask her.

"In a few months, I will be inviting some friends of mine here for a small little ball," He began, and Weiss could already see where this was going.

"What is it you want me to do?" She questioned, giving him the opportunity to elaborate on what he expected of her. She assumed it was to do with her marriage situation, and that she had a task to do at this event.

"I might just let it slip a few days before that my youngest daughter is seeking to get married. Many of them will clamor over themselves to have their son or daughter spend some time with the heiress to the richest noble family in Atlas."

So he wanted to use her as a prize, something to make the nobles compete with each other for the chance to try and seduce her. Not likely, but they didn't know that.

"I understand, Father," She responded, forcing down her disgust at the idea of being used as a prize, "I will do my best to be prepared for this event."

He nodded, the faintest traces of a smile on his lips. "If it's not too much trouble Weiss, I would very much appreciate it if you would sing at the ball," He spoke, all but demanding that she do so.

"That's... must I-"

"Lord Schnee! A missive from Vale has arrived!" A servant cried, bursting into the room. Father scowled as the messenger walked towards him, snatching the letter out of the man's hands. He ripped the thing open and began to read it, his eyes darting back and forth along the parchment. He let out a growl as he read, growing angrier by the second.

"Those damned animals! The White Fang has captured another one of our Dust mines!" He ranted, fuming as he tore the letter to shreds in a fit of rage.

Weiss began to rise to her feet, and Jacques whipped around to face her. His expression was one of pure fury, as it often was when it came to the faunus rebellion known as the White Fang. The group had been waging a war against their family, as well as several other nobles, for longer than Weiss had been alive.

"Did I give you permission to leave, Weiss?" Her father growled, using her as an outlet for his anger. The furious look he gave her frightened Weiss, causing her to numbly shake her head. There was no use arguing with him now, it was best for her to just accept whatever he said and get this over with.

"Speak, girl! I raised you as a noble, not some dumb animal that can't even form words!" He screamed at the white-haired girl, practically frothing at the mouth.

"You didn't raise me at all," She whispered under her breath, before letting out a soft "No," to answer his question.

"Speak up! If you must speak, speak to be heard!" Father's harsh words were starting to cut through her. She repeated her answer with shaky conviction and flinched when the man's face darkened.

Suddenly, his hand shot out and slapped her across her face. The force of the blow stung, and tears began to prick at the corner of her eyes. The shape of her father's hand was impressed into her pale skin, a harsh red mark that showed his anger at her. The greedy noble scoffed and left the room, bumping into her on the way out. Weiss nearly broke down crying right there. These past few days had been so harsh on her.

Instead, she wiped her eyes and began to leave. On her way out, however, she noticed Ruby, the silver ghost who had been following her for the past day and a half, looking at her with concern and sympathy. She scowled. She didn't need sympathy.

She made her way back to the training hall, taking the time to collect herself after that near breakdown. Noticing she had arrived early, Weiss started to run through several of the drills Winter had taught her to ensure she wouldn't get rusty.

Her blade flashed in and out of the straw training dummy, piercing it over and over, each hit driving the replica of a torso backwards a few inches. She stabbed and lunged and pierced until she had driven the dummy from one side of the ring to the other, then immediately turned around to do so again.

A flash of dull silver flames drew her attention to Ruby, whose sad expression bothered Weiss. She hated feeling the girl's pity. She was alive, which was more than the other girl could say, so she had no need for sympathy from her.

Ruby made to speak, but Weiss noticed this and immediately cut her off.

"No. I don't want to talk to you right now. Leave me alone," She told her bluntly, causing the younger girl to deflate. The ghost moved over to the corner of the room and sat down, simply watching Weiss as she eviscerated the poor straw dummy.


Ruby couldn't stand this. Weiss's father had been way worse than she had been expecting, and his words and actions clearly hurt Weiss more than she seemed to admit. Ruby still ground her teeth in anger at the memory of the man striking his daughter, and the slap that echoed through the room.

That was so different from what Ruby had experienced. With her family, none of them would even dare think of hurting each other like that on purpose, except for maybe while they were training. The idea of Dad or Uncle Qrow slapping her was so foreign to the caped ghost that she couldn't even begin to comprehend what it was like to be so clearly despised by one's own blood.

Weiss, however, didn't seem too shellshocked, which concerned Ruby. It broke her heart to think that this was almost certainly not the first time Weiss's father had struck her. But Weiss's method of bottling up her pain and releasing it on a dummy was only going to get her hurt, and it wouldn't be because the dummy fought back.

Ruby honestly felt bad for how she had been thinking earlier. She had wanted to be Weiss's friend partly so she could help the girl, but also so that Ruby herself wouldn't have to be alone. But now, all but demanding Weiss be her friend seems to be the worst idea to Weiss. So, Ruby simply watched.

Ruby watched when her fencing instructor refused to spar with her, only giving her basic theory work to do rather than risk being beaten. When he finally agreed to let her spar him, he set up some arbitrary time limit of one minute, which meant that Weiss wasn't able to claim victory yet again.

Ruby watched when Weiss headed to a lesson with a tutor, listening on in boredom as the man droned on and on about arithmetic and geometry. The history lesson had been fun, but this was all so confusing to Ruby. in history, she could start learning about any time period and it would still make at least a little sense. But this required years of background information to understand. She could count, add, and subtract, but that was the limit of what she knew how to do.

She watched while Weiss ate dinner on her own in her quarters, before going to bed. The jolly butler had come by to try and cheer her up but was unable to stay and eat with her, as he had to serve "His Lordship" Jacques Schnee. Wow. After learning Weiss's dad was named Jacques, all Ruby could think about was how that was the most stereotypical name for an evil noble, like in the stories Mom used to read to her.

The next day went very similar, and the day after that, and so on until a week had passed without Ruby really gaining any ground when it came to comforting Weiss. All of her attempts either were shot down or fell flat. Each day, Weiss would wake up and go about her lessons. The people she interacted with changed, of course. Sometimes she encountered Whitley while after a lecture, sometimes she spoke to her father in his office. She never saw her mother that week, but Ruby found her drinking in the large garden in the center of the manor.

Whenever Weiss had free time, she returned to the library and poured over academic journals and ancient tomes, trying to learn as much as she could about ghosts. Each time she did so Ruby felt conflicted. On one hand, she wanted to comfort Weiss, so seeing her so determined to get rid of her hurt Ruby's feelings. On the other hand, Ruby wanted to be able to see her mom again.

Yet each time, Weiss would leave frustrated. It seemed that Ruby's situation was unprecedented, as no ghost Weiss researched had all of the qualities Ruby possessed. Well, Uncle Qrow always said she was one of a kind.

Uncle Qrow and Dad said she was a lot of things. Patient was not one of them. So after a week of absolutely zero progress on her quest to befriend Weiss, she decided she needed to have a heart-to-heart with her. Now she just had to figure out how to make Weiss listen to her.

She still felt bad about her reasons for wanting to be nice to Weiss, however. She certainly needed a friend, but Ruby felt it was kind of selfish that she was befriending her so she wouldn't have to be alone. She shook those thoughts off, however. So what if she was selfish? Everyone benefited from this, and it wasn't like she was going to betray Weiss after befriending her.

Floating slightly behind Weiss as she walked back from a visit to the library, Ruby planned on how to force Weiss to talk. The white-haired girl stopped only to request a servant bring a small dinner to her quarters before heading there herself. Once she arrived, Weiss leaned her rapier against the wall and sat on her bed.

When the servant who brought her dinner knocked on the door, she rose up and grabbed the tray containing the food and set it on the tea table in the corner. She glanced at it for a brief second before turning around and going back to sitting on the bed.

"This is my chance!" Ruby thought to herself. Weiss was just sitting there, no one was around to overhear them talking, and she didn't seem to be all that angry. If anything, the noble seemed melancholic, which Ruby felt was a look that didn't suit her. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Weiss:

"Ruby. We need to talk."